Adjusting to the Echo
by Destiny Willowleaf
Summary: After the events of the Day of the Departed, Jay comes up with a brilliant plan to bring someone long overdue onto their team, and once they do, there's another person to get used to seeing. Echoes of the past arise, and Ninjago isn't as great as he thought it would be. Rating will rise for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**So… hi. I haven't written anything in awhile(mostly due to other things like life getting in the way), but even though I know The Hands of Time is out there and mostly in English, I still feel like writing this. This is technically my second story in the Ninjago fandom, though it's my first big project, and I am really excited.**

 **The story itself takes place after Day of the Departed and, for the sake of the story, The Hands of Time(Season 7) isn't going to happen/exist, even though the music in the season is amazing. Considering there's about a day or two gap between DoD and HoT, that's not enough time for this adventure to happen. *starts humming The Time is Now***

While he had been staring at the open sea for the past half hour, Cole decided he was sick of being out at sea. After Jay and Nya had gotten back together, they had been acting like they knew more than the rest of the team, and sometimes it was a bit much. This time, Jay had practically been begging for the team to go back to the lighthouse where Dr. Julien - Zane's creator and father - had been held for over a decade. He claimed there was someone else living there, so they set sail in a smaller boat than usual, as not to attract media attention.

Then again, it was hard NOT to attract attention, since only a few days after Jay and Nya got back together, the team found out Cliff Gordon - the actor who played Fritz Donegan - was the lightning ninja's real father. It had caused a bit of an uproar within the media, and considering the love triangle had also recently been resolved, the media was desperate for anything they could use.

They had been searching for a few days at that point, but all anyone could see was ocean. Lots and lots of ocean. Even though he was no longer a ghost, water was never his favorite way to travel, and getting any in his ghostly scar was even worse. Staying below deck wasn't any better, with the crash of the waves and the constant rocking of the boat made sleep virtually impossible. Why couldn't it be a tundra, or in a volcano, or on the side of a mountain? His mind began to drift away from the boat ride and instead reflecting on when he met Sensei Wu while he was climbing a mountain. It was exhilarating, and with that meeting came a team that he could count on, and they could count on him being there to cheer them up in return.

Jay's hand suddenly blocked his vision, while the lightning ninja himself was saying, "Earth to Cole?"

Cole snapped back into reality, shaking away the past. "What is it?"

"You looked like you were zoning out. You alright?"

"I'll be fine." The ninja of earth looked away from Jay, instead focusing on the intense round of "Delivery Trucks vs. Zombies: Pizza Party of Doom" Lloyd and Nya were playing, both completely tuned out to everyone around them. The moment Sensei Wu said they were going back to the lighthouse, Lloyd pleaded with his uncle to let him bring the game, since they were so close to beating the story mode of the game. Everyone had tried to beat the stage, but to no avail, as once one ninja booted up the game, the rest were sure to follow. Wu agreed, so long as Lloyd was the one to carry the screen and controllers on board.

Lloyd's character was defending Nya from the zombies as she was racing to deliver the last pizza before time ran out. If they were able to beat the stage, the whole team would be seeing the boss for the first time.

Kai and Zane came down from above deck, talking about something, but they went silent when they noticed Lloyd and Nya's progress in the impossible level. Kai grabbed a spot behind his sister, while Zane carefully moved a cushion closer to the screen and promptly sat down. Even Jay stopped bothering Cole to watch the last tense moments, wondering if the duo could actually beat the stage.

With a few more quick inputs, Nya delivered the final pizza, prompting a chorus of "HOORAY!" from the team. High-fives were exchanged, and Lloyd set down the controller to rub his eyes.

"I can't believe that just happened," he breathed, smiling in shock. "We beat it."

Lloyd turned to Nya, and both of them shouted "WE BEAT IT!"

"You sure did, Greenie!" Cole replied, getting up from his chair to high-five the victorious duo.

Suddenly, the screen went pitch black.

"WHAT?" Nya shouted, jumping to her feet and frantically checking that everything was on. "Nonononono! This CANNOT be happening!"

Before anyone else could get a word in, the screen came back, except instead of the "You Win!" screen, a large, demonic-looking being covered in blood appeared onscreen. First, it was looking away from the fourth wall, but after the screen flashed to black once more, the being was seemingly staring right back at the ninja from inside the game. Its eyes were bloodshot, its teeth stained red, its face rotted away to reveal muscle and bone.

Misako and Sensei Wu were above deck, guiding the ship to the lighthouse, when a chorus of scream erupted from below.

Without a word, Misako leapt to her feet and hurried down the stairs to see what had happened. Why was everyone screaming? Did someone get hurt?

When she saw the reason the ninjas were screaming, she held in an unamused sigh. Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole were on the opposite side of the room from Lloyd and Nya, while the duo themselves were clamoring for the controls.

"What is going on here?" she asked, making her presence known to those in the room.

"We were frightened by the sudden and unexpected appearance of a boss, presumably the main antagonist, of 'Delivery Trucks vs. Zombies: Pizza Party of Doom', which caused all of us to scream in fear," Zane explained. "Though Lloyd did say something, I am not certain on what exactly he said."

Lloyd didn't seem to hear Zane's comment, as he was quickly pressing the buttons on the controller to get out of the way of the villain's attack. Nya was also tapping buttons, seemingly faster than humanly possible. Without warning, the entire screen was covered in blood, and an all-too familiar message reading, "Conglaturations! You have died."

"OH COME ON!" Nya yelled. "THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNFAIR!"

Lloyd also shouted in protest, but his shouts were not in an easily recognizable language.

Jay's screams came out as a mess of words, but it sounded hilarious. "WHY WOULD? WHY THEY DO THIS? TO US? WE WON! BUT NO? WE NEEDED THAT! NOT COOL GAME! NOT COOL!"

Once the teens had calmed down, Lloyd turned around, defeated. "Anyone else-"

"Lloyd, what were you shouting?" Misako interrupted, standing out of his immediate sight.

The green ninja squeaked when he realized his mom had seen and heard what had happened. "Oh… hi, mom," He slowly turned around and met with his mom's eyes, a worried grin plastered on his face.

"I'm waiting for an answer."

Lloyd bit his lip, muttering, "I was shouting."

"I gathered that much. It didn't sound like English though."

"It wasn't…"

"Then what language was it?"

Lloyd went silent for a little while, avoiding eye contact with his mother. He really didn't want her to know, because then she'd know what he was saying if he ever used the phrase again. On the other hand, if he kept it a secret, he might get in even more trouble. After debating for a little longer, he mouthed a word.

"What was that?"

"Serpentine."

Misako seemed surprised by the answer. "Serpentine? Really?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, staring blankly at the controler in his hands. "That's what happens when you spend part of your life with people of a different language."

She seemed slightly put-off by what he said, but she pressed on. "So, what exactly were you saying?"

Lloyd laughed slightly, before repeating the exact words he had said. "It means 'For the love of the Devourer', according to Pythor. He tended to use it when referring to the other tribes, especially after they messed up. Sounded better and more natural when he said it though. Probably because he was a Serpentine and not a kid trying to not get killed."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Really? THAT'S what you were saying?"

The youngest ninja looked over to the fire wielder, nodded slightly, before awkwardly turning back to face his mom. "So…"

Misako stared right back at Lloyd, and just as she was about to say something, the blonde teen darted by her and ran up the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

The rest of the team just watched as the Green Ninja rushed to the deck to escape from his mom.

Misako sighed, and went back up the steps, leaving the teens to do what they pleased.

Jay glanced around, before picking up Lloyd's controller.

"Anyone up fo 2?"

Lloyd darted up the stairs, heading straight for the central mast and the crow's nest. He and Jay were the only ones small and nimble enough to make it up the mast, which meant he could have some time to himself, and even if Jay did come up, they'd probably just geek about Starfarer.

With a little boost from the ground, the blonde teen scrambled up the mast and into the crow's nest, ducking down. After peeking over the rim to make sure his mom wasn't looking, the kid sat back up and pulled himself up onto the rim of the nest, staring out into the vast sea. The only sounds he heard were the steady crashing of the waves against the sides of the ship, and the occasional splash when something jumped out of the water and back in again. The sounds were relaxing, until he noticed something flying right at him.

"GYAH!" Lloyd shouted, tumbling backwards into the crow's nest, narrowly avoiding the incoming object. When he glanced around to see what had almost got him smack-dab in his chest, the original falcon flew directly into his sight, perching where the teen had just been sitting.

With a small laugh, Lloyd smoothed down the mechanical bird's feathers. "Sorry Cog. Was I in your spot?"

When Cog squawked back, Lloyd smiled, and kept talking to the bird. "Are you still mad at me for tampering with Gear? Look, I've already said that I was sorry, but it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up! And it was a month ago!"

Cog ruffled his feathers and seemed to glare at Lloyd before flying off the nest and out into the open ocean once more.

The young ninja laid back in the nest, thinking about the falcons. After the craziness with the ghosts, Zane had gone looking for the original falcon. He found it waiting in his father's old workshop, seemingly waiting for his friend's return. When the nindroid had returned, an important question arose: what were the falcons' names going to be to distinguish them? Idea after idea had been suggested, until Cole came up with an idea.

 _The ninja were standing and sitting around the falcon duo, waiting for Cole to explain his thoughts on names._

" _Cog is the original falcon, since cog was used to refer to wooden gear-like objects, and they were the original versions of gears," the ghostly earth ninja explained, smoothing the first falcon's head feathers down. "Gears are normally associated with being metallic and new, an upgrade from cogs. They're similar in many ways, but they have their differences." He placed a hand gently on the second falcon's head, before patting it softly._

" _I'm not surprised you came up with the nicknames," Nya said._

" _Really?"_

" _Well, yeah. You've come up with nicknames for most of us on the team. Frosty, Pinky, Zaptrap, Mr. Fancy, Sparky, Slickster, Greaseball, Ny, X, Greenie, Kiddo-"_

" _Sheesh, okay, I get it!" he laughed, raising his hands in defeat. "You guys keep track of all that?"_

" _Would you prefer if we were to stop keeping the statistics on what nicknames have been used a specific number of times?" Zane asked._

" _No!" Cole quickly replied. "It's just that I'm surprised you're keeping track of 'em."_

" _Why wouldn't we?" Jay interjected. "Nicknames make us grow closer together, whether those names be good or bad!"_

" _The good ones remind us of the good times, while the bad and weird ones have funny stories behind them!" Lloyd added with a grin. He remembered the whole 'pink ninja' thing, and how mad Zane had been when he was stuck in a pink suit for an entire day._

 _Cole smiled, before pulling everyone in for a group hug. "Nicknames make the team grow stronger, huh?" he quietly repeated, though the green ninja overheard the ghost's thoughts._

Later that night, however, Lloyd had decided to pull one little prank that got him in trouble for a month. After asking Nya about how Zane was wired and programmed(She was hesitant to tell him, but a promise to get a video of the results and to not ask again solved the problem), he messed around with the nindroid's until the programming read whenever Gear was released, P.I.X.A.L. would be transferred to the robotic bird, allowing her full control. This would also mean Zane wouldn't see her in his interface, but it was gonna be fine.

Zane let Gear fly around the next day and screamed when P.I.X.A.L. disappeared from his main interface.

" _Still totally worth it,"_ the teen thought to himself with a mischievous grin. " _And besides, now P.I.X.A.L. does it whenever she feels like it."_

"Lloyd!"

"Where are you Greenie?"

"Probably up in the nest. Should I go check?"

Lloyd heard his friends calling for him, and sat up. "I'm here, I'm here. What'dya need?"

The ninjas were all standing above deck...

...and so was his mom.

"Eep." A fearful squeak escaped from his mouth, and he tried to duck back down into the crow's nest.

"Not so fast, Lloyd," Misako said, a hint of disappointment lacing her voice. "Get down here so I can talk to you."

Behind her, the rest of the team was giving off a 'just listen to her and get it over with' vibe, Jay visibly shrugging and mouthing the thought. With a reluctant sigh, the blonde teen slowly climbed down from his high spot and took his time shuffling to his mother.

"So…" he started, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Why didn't you say that you knew Serpentine?" Misako asked.

Lloyd didn't reply.

"Lloyd?" Misako asked again in a softer tone.

He tried to close his eyes to avoid her, but only saw the reason why he knew the language. They opened again, and while they initially appeared strong, fear and sadness were still present in his gaze. He tried looking anywhere but his mother's eyes. After trying to avoid her for a bit longer, she placed her left hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention. He bowed his head and began to talk.

"Remember when I kind of hid for a bit after we defeated Master Chen? I… went back into the old Hypnobrai tomb for a bit. I don't really know why, but it felt like it was calling me. I ended up learning some of their language from all the carvings in the ice," Lloyd quietly explained. "I just… never wanted to say anything, because…" He trailed off, trying not to bring up the past.

Misako gently smiled at her son, not saying a word before bringing him in for a hug. Lloyd returned the hug, and they stayed like that for a bit before breaking off.

"So… can I go back to the nest now? I like it up there."

"What, have you reached your emo and antisocial phase?" Jay joked.

"No, but I'm pretty sure the bird up there isn't Cog or Gear, and no one should have to face their wrath," Lloyd replied, before darting up the mast to reach the nest above.

A seagull was perched on the rim of the nest, seemingly waiting for something. Lloyd studied it quietly; it didn't stand out from the other seagulls they had seen, so why did it seem different? He kept looking for some distinct feature, knowing it had to have one, and noticed a small rusted gear around its right leg.

"Who are you?" Lloyd asked, startling the bird. "And what's with the gear?"

It turned and squawked at him before flying into the cabin, flying back out a few seconds later, and leaving the green ninja completely bewildered. Seagulls don't normally fly into a ship's cabin, do they?

He shook the feeling away, instead looking out in the direction the ship was sailing. The island HAD to be out here somewhere. And that seagull was probably a part of it.

 **And the story has begun! I'm excited to continue (trying) to write this, and I hope you're excited to keep reading it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And we continue onwards with our tale! Thank you to everyone so far who's left a review!**

The seagull flew onwards over the expansive waters, the sea breeze causing for little effort to be necessary. It finally came across the lighthouse the bright-colored people seemed to be looking for, and made a dive for an opened crack near the base of the building. A rusted robot was close to the edge of the room, one of his arms outstretched as a perch for landing.

"Did you see anything?" the robot asked. He understood every word the seagulls said, as the only other friend he had besides them was Gizmo, the tea-bot.

"Ship! Ship headed here!" the seagull squawked. "Color people!" Knowing what came next the seagull left the robot's arm are flew back out the small window.

The robot's faded yellow eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly started tidying up the lighthouse basement. He quickly moved a few of the dozens of crates to the outside of his room before he shut the secret door. He then shoved a few crates in front of the entrance on his side to add another layer of protection. After making certain the door was covered, he moved a ladder over to the window and scrambled up its beams. He considered shutting the opening his friend left through, but decided against it and just moved a makeshift curtain in front of it to hide the opening, blocking some of the light. He looked over the room one more time before crawling into a box of parts, sliding the lid over his head, and waiting silently for anyone who might come.

"Maybe he'll finally come home."

 _KNOCK KNOCK!_

Jay knocked on the door again, and he was getting impatient. He _knew_ there was an active robot still here. Even if Echo wasn't going to answer, Gizmo was still active, and he'd answer the door. He heard someone's feet shuffling on a further down the stone staircase.

"Are you certain there is someone here?" Zane asked. "My father was the only one who lived here. How can you be sure someone will answer?"

As if on cue, Gizmo opened the door with an excited set of beeps. He seemed to take a headcount before letting everyone inside. The lighthouse's main room was much cleaner than they last saw it, to the group's surprise.

Jay searched the room for any sign of life besides Gizmo, but the rusted robot left no trace of his existence.

Nya came up behind him while he was on his hands and knees, peering behind a stack of boxes. "Any sign of him?"

"No," Jay sighed, standing up and dusting himself off. "Nothing."

The ninja of water shut her eyes in thought, before declaring, "He's probably just scared. If we wait around, he'll come out. Right?"

"What are you two talking about?" Kai asked from a distance. The lightning and water ninjas split apart, and the ninja of fire raised an eyebrow to their actions. "Is there something I should know?"

"Nothing!" the duo exclaimed. Kai left them alone with a sigh, and they quickly got back to their discussion.

"Maybe we should go down to the basement?" Nya suggested.

Before Jay could utter a response, there was a shout of fright from across the room. Everyone in the room tuned to see Lloyd stumbling backwards down a staircase that had appeared from a wall.

"Lloyd!" Misako called out. She quickly made her way down the stairs to see Lloyd's arms and head on the ground and his feet up in the air. His left eye was shut tightly in pain, teeth gritted so he wouldn't shout more. Misako quickly sat the green ninja upright. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

"My pride," Lloyd groaned, sorely rubbing his head. "Besides that I'm fine." The green ninja shook his head, brushing away the pain. "Probably would've hurt more if these boxes weren't here though."

Jay peered down the staircase. "Hey wait. Those boxes weren't there last time!" Jay hurried down the stairs, taking care not to repeat the kid's mistake. He took one glance at the boxes, before spinning around with glee and shouting, "That means he's still active!"

"Who are you talking about?" Zane asked. He and Kai had quickly made their way down the stairs, Cole following behind him, wondering what the lightning master was shouting about.

"The person that we came here for!" Jay replied, before breaking into a ramble. "His name's Echo, well at least we call him Echo, but he's actually a Zane that Dr. Julien probably built a while back but anyway he's been here alone for a while and so Nya and I thought we should bring him back to the mainland because technically he's a part of our extended ninja family and he shouldn't have to be left alone!"

"How do you know about this? Zane's dad never told us about another Zane, so how would you have any idea of the existence of this 'Echo'?" Kai asked.

"I have a bit of a feeling that it's related to them seeming to know things that we don't," Zane commented from the side.

"Well?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"

"That's a story for another time," Nya quickly interjected, quickly stepping between the her brother and Jay. "What matters now is there's someone who has spent a large part of his life alone, waiting for someone who will never return."

The spark in Kai's eyes remained, but he stepped away from the lightning master and turned to go back upstairs.

During the argument, Lloyd had gotten to his feet and had started to move the boxes out of their way. They were deceptively heavy, though after the first one was down, he easily made it on top of the pile.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jay asked.

"I'm going to see what behind here," Lloyd replied, looking back over his shoulder. "There's no reason to block a door unless you're trying to keep someone out."

"Or keep some _thing_ in," Cole had come down the stairs and saw Lloyd climbing over the pile. "Be careful, kiddo."

"You're not my mom, Cole."

"What, does that mean I'm not allowed to be concerned for my team's safety?"

By the time Cole asked his question, Lloyd was over the pile and no longer listening to the earth ninja. He dropped down behind the pile in front of the door. The light from the upstairs was mostly blocked by the box pile, but a quick flick of his wrist summoned a glowing ball of energy. There wasn't a door to be seen, but a small stone protruded from the wall. With a smile, Lloyd pushed the stone, certain it was a button. A stone door opened, and the green ninja was met with more boxes blocking his way.

"See anything?" Cole asked, voice muffled.

"More boxes…" Lloyd groaned. "Why are there so many boxes?!" With a sigh, the green ninja climbed over the second set of boxes, and gracefully jumped down the last few. After making sure he was fine, he took a glance around the blocked-off room.

The first thing that stuck out was the small amount of light shining through an opening on the far side of the room. The light was mostly covered by a sheet hung only by a rope and a nail. The rest of the area was enclosed in darkness, silhouettes of more boxes barely visible. Lloyd took a few steps into the room, and bumped into yet another box. Curiosity got the better of him. Lloyd peered inside of the box, but he only saw dusty blankets and blueprints. Upon a closer look, he recognized the design for the little tea-serving robot. He carefully pulled it out, and accidentally also pulled out another design. The other design looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Lloyd? You okay?" Kai's voice penetrated Lloyd's mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There's just some weird stuff back here," Lloyd replied. He hurriedly put the papers back and helped move a few boxes in front of the door aside so the rest of his team could get in, accidentally scattering the blueprints over the ground again.

As the team came in, Lloyd continued scanning through the blueprints. Design after design, scrawled handwriting barely legible. He skipped a few designs here and there, but one in particular caught his eye. He knelt down to get a closer look, carefully picking up the faded plans.

"Hey, Zane?" Lloyd called out, still looking at the discovery. The ninja of ice seemed to be off in his own world. Lloyd looked in his companion's direction. "Zane?"

The nindroid wasn't listening. His attention was darting around the room, scanning, searching.

"Zane?" Lloyd asked again. He got up from where he was kneeling, and walked over to his friend. "You okay?"

Zane's gaze seemed to snap back from where his mind was. "I… don't know. Why would my father keep this from us?"

"Well, we were only guests here for a little bit…"

"But we found him, and we had a way of escape. It wasn't likely we would return, so why hide something as large as this?" Zane asked.

"Beats me."

The others had been wandering around the room, curious as to what secrets the lighthouse basement was holding. Kai had made his way to the middle of the room and made a flame to help light the room. Jay was darting around the shelves, searching for the missing nindroid. He knew Echo was still here, but where? After looking behind the last shelf, the blue ninja let out a sigh that had been building up. The rusted robot was nowhere to be found.

"Can't find him?"

Jay jumped, and spun around, only to find that it was Nya, and she looked slightly amused. "No…" he replied. "I can't find him anywhere!"

"Neither can I. Maybe he's hiding somewhere else?"

Almost immediately after she finished speaking, there was a loud noise, like wood being scraped against wood.

"What was that?" Cole asked.

"Sounded like a box's lid being moved," Kai suggested. He pointed towards the back. "From over there."

Everyone in the room turned towards the are Kai gestured to. Jay made his way over there first, summoning a ball of lightning to get a better look at the situation.

A lone box was positioned near a pile of leaves and sticks, and the box was open slightly. Jay shuffled closer, when a seagull flew in from the light hole, and put itself between him and the nest.

"Gyah!" Jay yelped, jumping back. He stared at the seagull for a good ten seconds before relaxing. "Oh. It's just a seagull! No need to panic."

"We gathered that," Kai laughed, shaking his head. "But where did that bird come from anyway?"

Zane gestured to the entrance the bird used. "It seems as if things are not as they seem in the lighthouse."

"You're tellin' me," Jay muttered. "But Echo seemed to like seagulls, so maybe he's here's inside the box?"

Lloyd crept over to the box. "Hello? Anyone in there that goes by the name of Echo? Or Zane?"

The box was silent.

"Perhaps I could try?" Zane suggested.

"Go for it Zane," Lloyd smiled. "You have the floor."

Zane stepped closer to the box. "If there is an inhabitant within this storage unit, would you be so kind as to come out so we may speak?"

"Step away." The box's inhabitant spoke, surprising the group.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked.

"Move away from the box and the nest."

Zane obliged, and asked again if they would come out of the box.

"No."

"Whatdya mean 'No'?" Jay exclaimed. He quickly realized his error and covered his mouth, a quiet apology escaping between his fingers.

"The chicks are about to hatch and they must not be disturbed."

"Chicks?" Lloyd piped up.

"In the nest. Now go."

With many reluctant footsteps, the team left the basement.

That is, except for one.

 **Ooohh! Wonder who's staying behind and not listening to the box voice? It should be kind of obvious, but still. I'm not gonna share just yet.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
